Have you ever wondered how eBays and Amazons of the world got the first page ranking in major search engines for many products they sell? Well, sometimes they buy keywords, but most of the time, it is search engine optimization (SEO) that do the trick. Sounds simple, isn’t it? Here is the cache: Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and other search engines do not like e-commerce websites.

Why?

What about duplicate contents and poor internal linking for the starter?

Optimizing these kinds of website is slightly tricky, and in this article, I will share the tricks that I stole from you from the bags of the e-commerce biggies like Amazon and eBay. Let’s use these to get the first page search engine ranking for your e-commerce website.

Keywords

In this section, I will provide in brief the changes you need to do in your e-commerce website to make it SEO friendly.

SEO keywords in the database

If you believe that the users search for products based on their ISBN codes, item numbers, or even brands (may be sometimes they do) then you are far from the truth. Consumers search for the solution to their problem, which involves searching for products or keywords representative of the solution they are seeking.

Make a place for keywords in your database or catalogue the way you have made columns for product, price, ISBN numbers, item codes, etc. The keywords you will enter here should go into the title tag, meta keyword and description tags, and also in the body of the page.

Use Singular keywords on product page

Plural keywords works well for your landing page or home page, but when it comes to product pages, always use singular keywords.

HTML Tags

Unique meta tags

Do not use the same meta keyword tags and meta description tags for all your pages. If you do so, you surely will alarm the search engines, and your pages will be isolated with a charge of duplication, which may amount to SEO spamming.
The basic rules of using keywords (like not cloaking, stuffing, etc.) are applicable with e-commerce SEO as well. Do not put unnecessary keywords in the meta tags.

Title tags

Unique title tag for each product page on your website is absolute must for taking your SEO ranking higher up. Add important non-repetitive keywords in the title tags and you are good to go. If you wish, you can add the brand name as well. It sounds simple, a piece of cake. But it gets tricky when you have multiple products from the same brand. Well, if you have to sell 1 product with ABC brand name then there is not an issue, but what if you have 10 or 20 products of ABC brand to sell? Will not you run the risk of duplication?

“Using a brand name in the tile tag or not” is the decision you have to take. This is a fine line that you have to walk. If I were you, I will try avoiding the use of brand name in the title tag. Just to be on the safer side. Also, try to keep the keyword as solid as you can, do not dilute it.

Content

This is the trickiest bit, and most of the e-commerce websites out there falter at this front. Let’s see how you can avoid this glaring yet often-committed SEO mistake.

Product description

The shortest way to land in the search engines’ blacklist is to copy the description from the manufacturer’s website and paste it in your website. If you are eyeing for this end then go ahead with it, but if you want something different, like a good first page ranking in major search engines then do not do this. Instead, write or hire someone to write product descriptions for you.

Product review

User-generated product review is another way to get original content for your e-commerce website. Allow your customers to write a review on the products they have purchased from your website; rather reward them if they do so.

Use iframe and avoid penalty

If you have to use duplicate content then put it inside an iframe. Make the iframe borderless. This way your visitors will not know that the content they are viewing resides on the other page, and it will also solve the issue of duplicate content.

URL, Navigation & Links

Simplify URLS

URL gives headache to e-commerce website when it comes to optimizing it for SEO, as the URL are mostly dynamic, and it contains session ID, product ID, category id, etc. This is not looked upon favorably by search engines.

Use URL rewriting software to create keyword-rich, meaningful URLs for your product pages. If you cannot use it then keep the category ID, product ID and other parameters to a minimum, and also avoid using session ID in the URL.

Do Not Use Script In Navigation

You do not need to use fancy navigation using JavaScript, CSS, form-based, or flash, etc. This is not crawlable, but if you are stuck with one then at least take a counter measure and add a flat navigation in the footer of your website.

3-Click Rule of Navigation

How patient do you think your visitors are? Very, moderate, a little, or very little? Well, they are very, very, very impatient. They cannot do many clicks to reach to the products of their choice. They would have waited, if you were the only seller of the product they need. But given the nature of the Internet, it is highly unlikely. Hence, you need to make the product available to your visitors in 3 or less clicks.

Make a ground rule that visitors will not need to click more than thrice (two will be the best) to reach to the product they are searching, no matter how they choose to navigate. I know, it is a lot of worth, but it is worth it.

Interlinking products

Do not forget to plant keyword-rich links at strategic places inside the product reviews written by users or your experts. The interlinking will lead search engines and users to similar offerings, which will increase the chance of making a sale and will also help search engine explore, index, and categories your various pages.

Optimize Image

Each product that you list on your e-commerce website contains one or more image. Do not let the image remain as it is. Optimize it for search engines by supplying each image with a unique keyword-rich alt attribute tag. I will also suggest you to use the same keyword-rich text as the filename of the image. This will immensely help your SEO exercise.

Conclusion

The things we have discussed here are very important in getting a high ranking for your e-commerce website in major search engines, but do not limit yourself to applying these principles only. There are many more things that you can do. Explore the web and you will know it. Keep learning, and keep applying the knowledge.

More on SEO?

Hungry for more? please write me your concerns, i will be ready to help you out, if you own a wordpress blog, I suggest please also read my post on SEO for Wordpress blog.

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